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IPL brand has taken a hit

Not a big-time cricketer though, but today he sits among the heavyweights of the game like Sunil Gavaskar, Geoffrey Boycott and Ravi Shastri to name a few, in the commentary box. He has a great sense of humour. His dimpled smile and demeanour has had cricket lovers all over the world fall in love with him.

Yes, we are talking of Harsha Bhogle, who has come a long way from just a sports reporter in one of the leading newspapers in Mumbai, to one of the most likeable characters on the idiot box. He was in Dubai on Tuesday to host the ‘Cricket Dialogues with Harsha Bhogle’ at the Dubai Cricket Stadium at Dubai Sports City.

In an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times, Harsha spoke about the current IPL imbroglio, India’s chances at the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies and various other topics.

Excerpts:

Q: What do you have to say about the IPL scam?

A: I think when cricket starts again, slowly people will warm up to it (cricket) but there is no doubt that the IPL brand which was becoming such a powerful brand has taken a hit. But all brands go through that in their formative years. In the sense, go through that meaning, they take a hit from time to time.

Q: Where does the IPL go from here?

A: Well, it will be interesting to see what the response to the whole episode is but I would like the IPL to become more spectator friendly, more people friendly (which it already is). May be this is part of the evolution.

Q: Do you think it’s the end?

A: Well, when it comes to cricket I’m a huge optimist. So maybe what is happening will eventually make your belief stronger. Maybe it will bring in more regulation, maybe it will make the process more transparent. To be very honest, I don’t know what legally goes right and goes wrong. I don’t want to get into that. To me cricket is bat versus ball and so I guess it is with everybody.

So maybe cricket will come out stronger from this. We got out of match-fixing. We got out of top players retiring. And, I think until all the facts come out you really cannot come out very strongly in one’s favour. If the facts do point towards irregularities then that’s fine, but I’d like to see evidence.

Q: Can you throw more light on the IPL?

A: Talking of the playing side of IPL, it’s a fantastic tournament. The umpires who come here, the broadcasters who come here, the match referees who come here, they enjoy the IPL. They like it more than any other tournament. It’s just a very, very good tournament.

We have some very good matches coming up, so I desperately hope that cricket is not affected by this, and I desperately hope that some of the people making noises about nationalising cricket and whatever are not given any space in newspapers because that is nonsense.

Q: Coming to Sachin Tendulkar, some former greats have stressed the need for him to play in the Twenty20 World Cup?

A: I think Sachin retired three years ago from international Twenty20. And as a nation if we have to keep going back to Sachin then it means we are not good enough. If we have to keep going back to the same person all the time it means we are a very ordinary cricket team.

Q: But Sunil Gavaskar had said that he would want Sachin to reconsider his decision?

A: See each of us has his views. My view is that we have to learn to live with the passage of time. Time says that Tendulkar’s finished with (international) T20 cricket and if we cannot find a replacement then that’s very bad for our cricket. You have to move on.

Q: What are India’s chances at the World Cup?

A: To be honest, I don’t think India start favourites. I think Australia have got a very good chance.

I think T20 is made for Pakistan. The style with which they play their cricket. I think the longer the game the more diluted Pakistan become. The shorter the game, the more concentrated they become. I think T20 cricket is made for them. I see all these kids coming across wanting to bowl four overs or bat for half an hour. I feel they are perfect for that. I think any team Pakistan sends out will be a threat in T20 cricket. But beyond it anybody could win it. Who thought Trinidad and Tobago would come into the final of the Champions League.

Q: Sehwag has been ruled out of the World Cup due to injury. What is your take on that. Is IPL to blame?

A: Players will get injured at some point or the other. If you say they got injured because of IPL then nobody should ever play cricket. Then we should only play Test cricket and only play one day internationals and sit at home and cover ourselves in mothballs and cover ourselves in wool and hide in a bunker. Injuries are a part of life.

Before the 2003 World Cup, Australia lost Shane Warne. They still went on to win it.

Q: Will India feel Sehwag’s absence at the World Cup?

A: Any team that plays without Sehwag will feel his loss even though he’s not been in form. Let’s not mince words with that. He’s not been a great T20 player so far but you never know, he’s just one of the greats of the game. But you know, one thing I learnt very early in life, one man’s problem is always another man’s opportunity. There’s a chance for Murali Vijay to show where he belongs.

Q: What about the current crop of players?

A: I like the look of Naman Ojha. But he has not been tested against the rising ball, which is the biggest problem with most of our batsmen. I wasn’t convinced initially by R Ashwin, but the more I see of him the more I like him. I think Pragyan Ojha bowled beautifully. He too still is a young kid. These are the few names that come to mind straight away.

Q: Which team do you think will win the IPL final?

A: I don’t think any team budgets or plans to win the IPL. Every team comes into IPL hoping to make the semi-finals. From there it’s a matter of putting in two good performances.

I think Mumbai Indians beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in a very one-sided match in Bangalore. But the first game between the two was won by Bangalore and fairly easily. So the same two teams playing against each other produced drastically different results. So anything can happen.

Q: Which is your favourite IPL venue?

A: For different reasons, I like Dharamshala just for the scenic beauty. Beautiful venue but more than anything else for the wicket they put out, fantastic cricket wicket. I didn’t go to Bangalore, but I love the tracks there. Bangalore is always a great venue. I like DY Patil (Mumbai) as well.

Q: How does it feel to do commentary for a 20/20 match compared to that of a Test match or a One-dayer?

A: It depends. With T20 you never feel settled. There’s so much happening. There’s a lot of commercial involvement in the broadcast. You never feel like you are in. But it’s your job to add to the excitement, not create excitement. Because that is what the game creates. A commentator can never create excitement. You cannot explain things in a T20 game. So you become part of the action. Hence it is a different ball game doing commentary for a Test, One-dayer or T20.

Q: Will Test cricket be a loser?

A: Well Test cricket had some fantastic two to three years recently. It was like fashion coming back. But I don’t know whether the younger generation will look up to it. To gain something you have to lose something.

Q: Who according to you is the best Test batsman?

A: Rahul Dravid will go down as India’s greatest Test batsman.

clareto@khaleejtimes.com